Casual Dreams
by njking24
Summary: A million, million worlds exist, and in each one an Uzumaki Naruto lives. Dreams of these worlds abound and these are glimpses into those dreams, A collection of one shots, rabbles, and story ideas.


**Causal dreams is a collection of one shots, and story ideas. Chapter 1-3**

**two drabbles and one one shot. Chapter three is a story idea from a few years ago i've held onto for comparison sakes. **

xxx-xx-xxx

Chapter 1: Times Uzumaki Loved.

Uzumaki Naruto loved. In many worlds, in many places, in all the possibilities Uzumaki Naruto would almost always experience love. Love of a woman, love of a man, love of something, or someone who was neither, or both. Love would be a constant for Uzumaki Naruto. But with love, sometimes comes heartbreak.

One time Uzumaki Naruto experienced love was with a pink haired girl he called a teammate. Sakura was beautiful, to him the most glorious woman in the world. Her pink hair was like silk, her green eyes beyond description, and her intelligence unmatched. Her skin was smooth and unblemished, her hands soft yet firm. One time Uzumaki Naruto would love Sakura Haruno with all his heart. One time, two times, three times, a thousand times over, in a hundred thousand possibility, in a million dreams, Uzumaki Naruto would give his life for Sakura Haruno. In less than ten percent of those would she return his feelings. Weather of fear of him, weather of fear _for _him, whether she simply didn't know him, or acknowledge him, or he died long, long, before she stopped being a girl and turned into a woman and realized what she had before her. In those rare slices he returned her feelings he would be one of the happiest men on earth.

Once, and many more times Naruto loves Hinata. She warranted no explanation of her beauty, of her grace, of her kind-heartedness and willingness to help others. In a million, million possibilities, when he noticed Hyuuga Hinata, when the shy little girl finally admitted to the lonely little boy her feeling Uzumaki Naruto would come to know her as _simply Hinata. _Someone so wonderful, so spectacular, that she warranted no other explanation, that there were no words to describe her other than her name. That anything else would _so_, woefully inadequate that to call her anything else was an insult. In the worlds he would come to love her he would be obsessed with her. She would be on his mind, she would dominate his thoughts, she would pull his strings and manipulate him like no other woman, or person ever could. In some of those worlds he'd have to fight Hinata's family for her hand. In some of those worlds he'd have to save her from said family. In some of those worlds her family accepted him with open arms, and grand smiles, and with kind words. But always constant, always true, was her love for him, and his love for her. It would shine through a million, million times. So when Uzumaki Naruto turned to the demon within when Hyuuga Hinata fell a thousand times over in just as many world, it was with no regrets, it was with no other emotion than love. Absolute, all consuming love that bound and tied him unequivocally to Hyuuga Hinata.

In other worlds Uzumaki Naruto loved men. For love isn't a strict thing, and it bounds and shifts, and can fall with either gender. So, in the worlds where Naruto would be attracted to men, he found love in the strangest of places. One of those was in the arms of Sabaku no Gaara. The red haired teen was an obvious choice in those times he loved him. He understood Naruto like no other person. He understood the loneliness, the sadness the fear and anger. The madness that came with being alone, with being hated. Uzumaki Naruto would love Sabaku no Gaara, and Sabaku no Gaara would love him back.

Chapter 2: Emotions

Emotions were powerful. No one knew this like the Uchiha, no one understood it like the Uchiha, even it was not a conscious understanding. Uchiha Obito _loved _his teammate Rin. No, love wasn't strong enough of an emotion. It wasn't powerful enough to describe what he felt, what he could barely comprehend with his mind. He _loved _her, he was _obsessed _with her. She was a catalyst to his life, a pillar of his strenght, Rin, to Obito was infallible, perfect in every way. He loved so, so much, as Uchiha are wont to do, and so when he watched Kakashi drive a raikiri through her heart, it was only Natural so much love would be twisted into hate. This absolute, overbearing emotion struck many Uchiha, and Obito wasn't the only one.

Itachi loved, he loved his brother most of all. He loved his village, just as much but not in the same way. So when as Itachi killed his family, as he slit the throats of men, women, and children in their beds, as he fought his kinsmen, and finally committed the greatest sins of matricide and patricide, he cried, for he knew he did it all out of love. Love of his brother, who would remain alive to avenge his great sin when he was finished. Love of his village who couldn't, _and _wouldn't, survive a coup attempt. Love of his mother and father, who would see a more respectful death, loved and remembered as martyrs of a great tragedy instead of instigators of a horrible war. _Love_ drove Itachi to kill his family, _love _drove Itachi to keep his brother alive, _Love _drove Itachi to fight, yet hold back, and wait for the cold hand of death to finally grab a hold on him.

Uchiha Sasuke Hated, and loved, and _hated, _and _loved, _this duopoly of emotion tore his psyche, it rent his mind. It destroyed who he was, who he had been as a child. It made him a monster, a slave to his emotions, much like many Uchiha before him.

Uzumaki Naruto dwelt in a realm of extreme emotion, much like the Uchiha. Once he had _hated, _once he had _loved, _one he had felt as if the world was on his shoulder, drowning in the cesspool of his own depression. Like the Uchiha, emotions ruled Uzumaki Naruto, unlike the Uchiha, Naruto could change the emotions he felt at will. If he wanted to be happy, god damnit he would be happy. If he wanted to hate, god damnit he would hate with all his heart, and all his passion, and all the raw, sheer emotion once such as him could feel. So perhaps it was a good thing Uzumaki Naruto wished to feel only good emotions. Happiness and joy. Ecstasy, and compassion, it was good Uzumaki Naruto wished only to feel these feelings then.

Chapter 3: Not quite human.(**This chapter is actually a story idea i thought about a few years ago. I wrote it when my writing style wasn't quite defined yet, but you can see the beginnings of the style i use today in my stories like "Other Worlds," and " The waves of time."**

(-begin-)

Uzumaki Naruto was a child used to exclusion, and subsequently he knew of the ways to ease the eventual boredom that came of his exclusion. These ways of course came after a number of -failed- attempts to befriend his fellow children at the orphanage. So with the no one to play with he had decided to create his own games, from climbing the trees around the orphanage, to hunting-in the sense that he followed and tried to catch the squirrels and various birds that dwelled is said trees. However such games became boring after a much too short time so he had been forced to create a newer games as the days went on, some far more fun and interesting than the others. However of all the games he played one held his special attention.

Adventuring.

Adventuring was like no other game he played. Adventuring was fun, it was cool, it could be played by himself, and best of all it had yet to get boring. So whenever the nice lady that ran the orphanage wasn't looking- because when she looking was he couldn't go- he made sure to go adventuring.

Today's adventure however was going to be especially fun, mainly because today his adventure would go into the woods. He'd left sometime after breakfast when the orphanage lady let them out to play and he headed straight for the for the village. Passing through back alleys and darting across streets he'd already adventured through Naruto let out a short quipped giggle. Today was going to be fun.

He pushed his feet to move faster, slapping his sandals against hard packed dirt that slowly changed shifted to soft plush grass. Naruto smiled coming to a sudden halt he squatted over and took deep calming breaths like the nice old man that visited him sometimes said he should whenever he was tired. He looked at the forest before him and let his face slip into a smirk.

_Today was a great day for adventuring._

xxx-Not quite Human-xxx

_He should've never went adventuring._

Uzumaki Naruto was a boy who-though unaware of it himself- learned through action. He learned his lessons through action, sweat, and shed blood. The lesson he had learned today was a rather simple one. Going adventuring into the woods without telling anyone was by bad idea and he would never make the mistake again. The searing pain in his leg would pound _that particular _lesson home like no stern lecture ever could.

He looked around and strained his eyes-by squinting them as children were wont to do- to peer into the absolute darkness. Not seeing anything,for there was nothing to see, and having no other options he cupped his hands to his mouth and did what any other child in his position would do, he called for help.

"Help!"

His voice echoed throughout the deep cave, bouncing off walls he couldn't see before coming back to him . He tried again.

"Help!"

Once more echos and silence were all the replies he received. He frowned and the tiny linchpins of worry slid themselves into his heart.

"Please Somebody help me!" His voice cracked, and when once again no reply followed his pleads for assistance he felt his heart grow heavy.

"P-please," he choked on his sobs for a few moments. "Somebody, anybody help me." There was no answer just silence, and the think unending darkness.

"Please! Somebody, anybody help me!"

This time the amongst the echo's almost unnoticeable slosh of water pounding against hard stone wall. He struggled to stand and gasped in shock as a jolt of pain ran through his ankle. Naruto a careful step forward-because he couldn't see much of anything ahead of him-and started walking.

xxx-Not quite Human-xxx

Haggard aged, and wrinkled skin moved, constantly shifting as Sabutori Hiruzen slowly but assuredly slogged his way through his stacks of this boring white sheets marked with black markings. He sighed taking a deep long breath and leaned back lazily into the thick, yet comfortable brown leather that made the hokage's chair while letting out a deep fulfilling yawn.

Then with movements betraying his old age, his hand rushed forward slapped the well of ink he used often used to fill out paperwork away from his desk and onto the floor. He smirked -only for the briefest moment of course- and watched with joyous glee as his new assistant rushed into the room at the uncommon commotion.

"Hokage-sama what happened?" His new and overly enthusiastic assistant cried out as she rushed into his small office.

Brown eyes twinkled with childlike glee.

"Why it would appear I've accidentally spilled my ink well Irojiro-san. Would you please clean the spill for me and retrieve a new ink well for me?" His voice was sweet and endearing, a sharp contrast to his actual intentions.

The women smiled at her seemingly kind hearted Kage nodded her head in understanding and diligently went to work. Quickly leaving the room only to return a few moments later with some towels as well as a new ink well she diligently went to work. Knees on the floor with both her back turned away from him, and firm rectum propped for all the world to see she didn't notice the lecherous grin the elderly man sported as he watched her work.

Sarutobi let out a sharp but quite giggle at his own devious plans. Even after nearly three months working for him the women had yet to figure out-or even catch on to the fact- his little mishaps and accidents were merely ruses for the aged leader to perversely watch her. So-with seemingly careless abandon-perversely watch her he did for his assistant was a signature of beauty.

She was indeed worthy of her name. With pale skin _just_ tan enough for her complexion not to seem sickly, her long silk like hair was a perfect contrast that highlighted her curvy lithe form. She was a beauty to behold and he had no doubt that in but a few short years she would be married and he would have to find another pretty woman.

"I'm done Hokage-sama." A soft angelic voice called out to him, interrupting Sarutobi's rather wayward musings.

"Very good Irojiro-san you may leave for the -"

He sensed the chakra signature moments before its owner entered the room.

"Tell me eagle what can I do for you?"

"Uzumaki-san has gone missing again Hokage-sama." The old man sighed a deep regretful sigh.

"Naruto-san tends to try to create his own entertainment, he's more than likely around the orphanage area. However giving who, and what, he is we can not take his disappearance lightly. Deploy S&R squads one and two. Have them start their search at the orphanage. If they have found nothing by fourteen-hundred hours report back to me."

"Hai Hokage-sama." The masked man said as he disappeared in a burst of speed.

"Now Irojiro-chan where were we?"

xxx-not quite human-xxx

Slitted reptilian eyes open for the first time in years. Hard steel like scales rippled above massive, thick coils of muscles, as their owner moved them for the first time in decades. A low and haggard rumble escaped the gaping maw of the ancient reptilian mammal. Two wide gaping slits laying on each side of its massive maw opened and truly breathed in the damp air of the massive subterranean cave. Dust, and water, and earth, and the harsh scent of rusting iron, but beneath all that was a unique smell. Something he hadn't smelt in years.

_Blood. Blood not his own._

It had spent centuries here, captured and held, chained in the dark confines of this cave. With only the low thrum of the passing waters to keep it company the beast had forced itself into deep unmoving sleeps. Using its own power to keep itself alive as time passed oh so slowly, and quickly, at the same time. It had never had visitors-sentient or otherwise- and the arrival of something _alive_ so close to its prison was thrilling, riveting even. It's sleep lessened and its mind awoke to its its full capabilities.

It stretched out , feeling and searching, _keening(1) _ for the creature that had fallen down into these caverns. It only took a few minutes to find the creature.

_A human Hatchling._

Small, tiny, almost insignificant to it. The hatchlings mind was filled with fear, caution, anger, and...another mind? It delved deeper pushing past pitiable mental barriers, moving beyond childish hopes, and seemingly senseless fears and dreams. It moved beyond well of the boy's soul, and found its way to that other mind. It smiled- a truly vicious thing as its razor sharp teeth-each towering over a full grown adult-glinted in the darkness, and approached it. The being spoke before he did. Its own energy reaching out and desperately trying to grasp his.

"**You,..." **The _thing _was quiet for a moment, before it spoke once more. **"He told us he sealed your kind away. Hid the darastrix beyond the grasp of man, beast...and god. Tell me flame breather why are you here? "**

The dragon spoke slowly, his voice coming at an lazy pace expected of a being who could live for countless millennia._"Your soul sings of him and of the beast, of the one who bound me and cast us away when we the darastrix, proud and strong, eternal and forever, refused to bow to his whims" _He delved into the fox thing's blinded him as he realized exactly what he was speaking too._ "A creation of his, an abomination, a... mere fragment of what once kept balance."_

"**You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"**

"_In the human hatchling? I could ask the same of you."_

"**I've been imprisoned here." **It's chakra leaked from the massive bars and formed a claw that-for the short time it existed- swung from right to left displaying the full size of its prison. ** "Within this ningen and his lineage. Passed down like a simple pet. My power stolen or coerced from me. And you?"**

The reptilian beast chuckled. _"Imprisoned within the waters beneath the world. Sleeping away the eons, waiting for the power that holds me to fade." _The dragon seemed to pause its body-both physical and imagined- coiling and slithering in a sudden rush of ecstatic glee._ "But no longer shall I wait."_

This time it the fox who chuckled. **"Who's to say you won't be imprisoned again? The ningen have gained strength since you last time your kind roamed the world. My imprisonment for nearly a century is a sign of this."**

"_My power exceeds yours."_

"**And yet you remained imprisoned for countless centuries."**

The great beast chuckled. Yes it could be imprisoned again, but that was half the fun of life itself.

"_So? The uncertainty of being is half the fun of existence. " _

xxx-not quite human-xxx

He stumbled, slipping on the now slick rocks beneath his feet. The slow drip of his blood onto the floor was now unnoticed, and the pain in his leg was ignored. The voice said help was further ahead. That if he kept moving forward he'd find someone to help him.

**Boy a few more feet.**

He fell again, his body sharply falling against the smooth hard stones. He gasped in pain, and tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

**Boy stand up, continue forward.**

He struggled to his feet, both his arms and legs aching from over exertion. He could hear the faint rush of flowing water ahead of him. With his last burst of energy he slowly inched his way forward. Though he didn't know it now what he saw when he entered the cave would forever change his life.

_A dragon._

To say it was big would be an understatement of inexplicable proportions. The beast was massive, a leviathan whose body was mostly sunk hundreds of feet beneath the waters surface. It maw was huge easily the size of the hokage monument , with each of its hundreds of razor sharp teeth the size of a full grown man. Glowing eyes of silver- highlighted by impossibly black slitted pupils- stared down at him. Two long tendrils lay on each side of the beast's head. Moving in random patterns, occasionally lashing out at nothing in particular.

Massive chains each four times the size of a grown man, each link glowing with an eerie blue light, bound the beast in its watery prison. The dragon looked at him its form massive and looming over him.

To it the boy was infinitesimally, and to the boy the beast was as large as the skies. **"Duulo ve drot."**

It's voice was a deep booming echo that rang throughout both his mind and this cave. He wanted to reach out to touch the chains that bound the beast. _To free it? _**"Duulo ve drot, vur si geou fehlim wux vi huven."**

He stumbled, his voice catching in his throat. "W-what?" He didn't understand what it had wanted but it wanted something from him. He watched with caution as one of its tendrils reached out. He felt goosebumps trail down his skin as the beats appendage touched his forehead.

_Soft;_he thought as it pressed against his forehead.

"**Duulo ve." **_Free me._

"Y-you want me to free you?"

"**Duulo ve drot, vur si geou fehlim wux vi huven." **_Free me, and I will grant you a wish._

"A wish?"

"**Axun"** _Yes!_

"Anything i want?" His voice was small and timid.

"**Axun."**

xxx-not quite human-xxxx

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked down at the child-sized sinkhole with baited apprehension.

"Of all things for that child to do, he falls down a sinkhole?" The elderly man sighed out.

He peered into the dark hole once more with even greater concern. He looked around at the gathered anbu. Who to send to send to retrieve the child? Eagle was a burly man, large and muscular built like a brick wall. Hawk was slim and lithe, but still too large for the hole. Rat, the female anbu was smaller than normal, tiny and undersized-with a respectable bust as well- the woman was perfect for initial recon of the area. "Rat find him and report back to me."

"Hai Hokage-sama." The anbu known only as rat said as disappeared down the hole.

The elderly man knew Uzumaki Naruto was a _rambunctious _child, a child whose as of yet untapped-and massive- chakra stores drove him into a jittery and hyperactive mess. The boy's constant need for movement had him a mess to keep track of. Hiruzen grimaced as he remembered a particularly bad episode where the boy had went missing for days playing _hunter _of all things. That particular security failure had caused him to enact a number of stringent and fast acting changes to the anbu protection details.

"Hokage-sama."

"Report rat."

"Uzumaki-san was located, he currently trapped-but alive- within a tunnel system beneath the appears to be man made, however-"

"Come now Rat. Speak."

"It is best if you follow me Hokage-sama. It's rather difficult to explain with words."

The elderly man stood up with a disgruntled sigh. His body ached with the small pains of age. Brown eyes looked down at the small hole with trepidation. While his body was far from child sized it was still small-in part due to age, and in part to being short the entirety of his life- enough for him to barely squeeze through. With speed betraying his age he leapt he roughly squeezed his way in.

After a short run both he and rat found themselves exiting the small tunnel and entering a large spacious cavern.

_Oh my._

Despite the fact that he was a good distance away from the boy and the _thing_-because you never trusted you eyes in the world of shinobi- he could still hear the faint echoes of Naruto's voice beneath the booming thrum of their,both the beast and the boy's, strangely one sided conversation. The beast spoke once more, and the strange tendril like organ that connected boy and monstrosity seemed to vibrate. The sudden spark of gold between the two reminded him of the danger the boy could possibly be in and prompted him into action.

"**Vi cadilan rionib sthyr vur fueryon ,vi inglata jaka trian rekisix zklaen nakta ,iejir ihk iejir,oath acht oath ,isthasyi ihk freedom,vi contract xurwka rionib sthyr, fueryon, vur kothar."**

The _thing _had finished speaking second before he could reach the boy and an orb of blindingly radiant light suddenly consumed the boy. The light stayed for a few moments blinding the two remaining humans in the cave. Just as suddenly as it had appeared the light was gone, and a feeble-and now badly malnourished - Uzumaki Naruto, and a small reptile,barely a foot in length, was left in its wake. The beasts tendril recede from the boy's forehead.

xxx-not quite human-xxx

Twin pools of liquid silver watched with infinite patience. Reptilian lips parted revealing its large, jagged, and razor sharp teeth for all to see. Then it spoke to the child feebly trying to stand before him.

"**Boy do you understand now?"**

"Y-yeah" The child Naruto out, his voice cracking from its new partially hardened voice box.

"**Good then my part was completed. I gave you family, now free me."**

"But, but you didn't do anything."

"**But I did. You asked for family, so I gave you mine, and made you a brother as well."**

"What?" The beast made a gesture. Its large paw moving slowly and pointing between his feet. He looked down and saw a small foot long reptile.

"That thing?"

"**Our blood is one, a beating symphony of man and beast. I'm very much your brother as he is. " **It carefully explained to Naruto. **"Us three, our souls are linked, you and me, are the links and him.." **Again with the limited references.** "He's the welding that holds our two souls links together."**

Naruto looked down at the small creature at his feet. It was tiny, its hand-or perhaps paws?- barely an inch in total length. It's body was a dull silver with a yellow shine to it. Its eyes a startling shade of glowing deep blue. Like the other dragon it had tendrils of its own, but instead of a sharp grey moving to the dark shade of pink that marked the oldest of the two dragon's organ, a clear, almost translucent tone marked the youngest's tendrils.

_Was this thing really supposed to be a brother?_

Then the small creature yawned its small mouth opening revealing a deep set row of sharp small razor thin teeth. It smiled at him, and a faint voice whispered in his mind._ "Hello Brother"._

"Ho-how do i free you?"

"**Blood and power."**

"What?"

"**Pour blood into the water, and sink your..." **It struggled to find the correct word it was looking for. **"Chakra" **It seemed to have found the word.** "Into my bindings."**

Confusion marred Naruto's face for the briefest of moments. He decided to not ask any more questions and moved on. He bit his thumb and allowed a single droplet of blood to fall into the water,reached out grabbed the closest link of the massive bindings and pushed his life force into droplets turned the water pink for the slightest of moments before the water started to glow an eerie bluish white color. He watched as the massive binding chains seemed to glow for the slightest of instants, before the behemoth of a creature broke it's chains. It turned, its eyes silver eyes stared into Uzumaki Naruto's now slitted orbs.

"**Boy. Thank You."**

And his world fell into black.

**(-end-)**

**xxxx-xxx-xxx**

**So that was that. How did you like those three chapters? What did you think of little old me's earliest attempts at writing? Well...? come on then! Tell me. **


End file.
